Customer research: know your customer
- Amber Kuipers
- Edited 24 February 2025
- 5 min
- Managing and growing
- Marketing
Whether you sell beauty products or build company websites, you need customers to buy your product or service. Avoid, for example, starting a young people's nightclub in a region where mainly elderly people live. Or giving your customers discounts when what they want is better quality products. Determine who your ideal customer is, what they find important, and where they are active with this handy step-by-step guide.
What is a target group?
A target group is a special group of people or businesses that is a perfect match with your product or service. They have the same characteristics, such as age, industry, interests and needs. If you choose a target group clearly, you will know what subjects to write about on your website and social media. It helps you to be found better by search engines. And you can use (online) advertising and other promotional tools more successfully, which can save you a lot of time and money.
Determine your ideal customer, step by step
Whether you offer services to businesses (Business to Business: B2B) or consumers (Business to Consumer: B2C), the steps to determine your ideal customer are similar. This step-by-step guide provides examples for different situations.
Determine which problem you are solving
Start with a clear description of your product or service. Consider the benefits it has for your customer. Ask yourself: which problem am I solving or which need or ambition am I fulfilling?
Example:
- You are a web designer specialising in fast, conversion-oriented websites. You ensure that web shops can sell their products more, faster, more securely, and more user-friendly.
- Do you work as a consultant? Perhaps you have experience in improving work processes. This is useful for production companies that lose a lot of time and money because they have not organised their working methods properly.
- Do you want to be a career coach and help young female graduates start their careers, or do you want to help HR managers retain their employees?
- Are you a tennis coach and do you want to guide children become professional tennis players, or help senior citizens stay active and in touch with others?
Think about what your customers want to achieve. Consider: saving time or money, retaining staff, living a healthy or sporty life, finding a new job, looking good, or just having fun?
2. Focus on the type of customer or type of business
Not every business or person is right for you. Focus on a specific industry, organisation or lifestyle. Ask yourself questions such as: do I prefer to work for small or large businesses? Do I prefer a business in technology, healthcare or retail? Do I focus on the elderly, young people, working people or students?
Example:
- You are an accountant who focuses on start-ups in the tech industry because they often grow quickly and need clear financial insights.
- You are a personal trainer who prefers to work with young mothers who want to get back in shape after pregnancy.
- In your webshop, you mainly sell vintage designer clothing for young people who care about sustainability.
Use information from existing customers
Do you already have a number of customers? If so, use the valuable customer data you already have on them. Are these mainly businesses or consumers? What demographic data do you often see, such as certain residential areas, and what is the average purchase amount? Check your invoices or CRM system.
Make sure you adhere to the privacy law GDPR: you may only save and use data that is necessary for your business operations. For example, a customer's place of residence is necessary for shipping orders.
Examples of research questions for customers
You can also ask your customers questions in person or send them a survey. Ask your customers about their wants and needs regarding your product or service. How did they find you (website, social media, through an existing customer), why did they buy from you, what was important to them in their choice? What tips do they have for you? You can use this information to find new customers and assignments.
Search externally for customer information
There is a lot of data online and offline that you can use for your customer research. ‘Data such as demographic information, market numbers, or public surveys provide additional insight that you can use for your research,’ advises De Jong. A few examples:
- The KVK Location Scan (in Dutch) allows you to investigate how suitable the market is for your location. What is the competition like and what is the population like? The free scan is available to entrepreneurs who focus on consumers.
- If you want to open a bakery in your town, you should focus on the area around your shop. What is the average disposable income in this area? Are there many passers-by? When do they do their shopping? For this information, you can contact your municipality or an entrepreneurs' association in your shopping area. For example, look at a “purchase flow study” (in Dutch) for your city or town. Here you will find the online and offline purchasing behaviour of consumers, including their experience.
- If you have a clear target group, you can search for data specifically for that group. For example, consider a travel agency for extreme adventure travel. What is your target group's spending pattern and how often do they go on holiday? You can find this information at official agencies such as Statistics Netherlands (CBS, in Dutch) and the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP, in Dutch).
3. Create a profile of your customer
Based on the data from step 2, create a profile of your ideal customer that includes details such as company size, interests, and location. This profile is also known as a persona. It will help you determine which channels your target group uses and which message you can use to approach them. Below you can see what you can include in the profile to get a clear picture of your customer:
Persona name
Job title
Background information
- Information about daily life or work.
- Stage of life: for example, young parents, students or pensioners.
Behaviour and interests
- Interests: hobbies, passions, and leisure activities.
- Media and channels: which platform does your persona use? For example, social media, professional journals, or forums.
- Purchasing behaviour: where and how does your persona buy products or services?
Challenges and frustrations
- Challenges: specific needs or probems that connect to your offering.
- Frustrations: things your persona encounters in your industry such as long delivery times, a tight labour market/housing market, poor quality, etc.
Drivers and goals
- What motivates the persona and what do they want to achieve?
- Drivers: values such as sustainability, convenience, cost savings or status.
- Goals: concrete things that the persona wants to achieve with your help.
How can you help?
A brief explanation of how your product or service solves the persona's challenges and supports their goals.
- Location: where does the persona live or work?
- Behaviour and interests
- Challenges and frustrations
- Motivations and goals
- How can you help?
- Location. Where does your persona live or work?
- Behaviour and interests
- Challenges and frustrations
- Drivers and goals
- How can you help?
4. Find out who decides
Especially in B2B, you usually need to contact someone who has a specific role in the business, such as:
- An HR manager, if you offer career training.
- The marketing manager, if you provide online advertising or events.
- The owner, if you work for smaller companies.
Example:
- A graphic designer can focus on communications departments in non-profit organisations. Here, the communications manager usually makes these decisions. Or if you are a supplier of promotional gifts, you can focus on the HR manager or management.
In B2C, the customer is usually also the end user. But there are exceptions.
- As a children's coach, for example, you not only talk to children, but also to their parents, who decide whether they want to hire you. In the case of the elderly, it is often their children or informal caregiver who helps make the decision.
5. Test if it works
Do you have a clear idea of your target group? Try it out and discover what works. Talk to potential customers via networks, social media, or try placing an ad aimed at your specific target group on a small budget. Pay attention to the following: Who responds best to your messages or advertisements? Which type of customer gives you the most energy and profit?
Example:
- As a graphic designer, you may notice that medium-sized retail businesses respond more quickly than businesses in the healthcare sector.
- As a coach for private individuals, you may notice that mothers of young children respond more often than students.
Keep adapting your target group, services or products based on what works.
